Match Group stock falls after Tinder employees sue company
Shares of Match Group Inc. are down 2.6% in Tuesday trading after a group of former Tinder employees sued the company for undermining the value of Tinder. The lawsuit also alleges sexual misconduct by former Match Group Chief Executive Gregory Blatt. The plaintiffs argue that Match and IAC/InterActiveCorp. executives delayed implementing new monetizable Tinder features, inflated Tinder’s expenses, and stripped early Tinder employees of their options. The plaintiffs seek damanges of at least $2 billion. IAC is the majority owner of Match, and Tinder was created within Hatch Labs, a venture group that IAC helps fund. “With respect to the matters alleged in the complaint, the facts are simple: Match Group and the plaintiffs went through a rigorous, contractually-defined valuation process involving two independent global investment banks, and Mr. Rad and his merry band of plaintiffs did not like the outcome,” IAC and Match said in a joint statement. Match shares are up 151% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.